Review Summary: Maybe 2000s The Offspring wasn't that bad...
It's rather obvious that the glory days of The Offspring are far behind them. After they released their quintessential 90s punk classic
Smash and followed it up with the equally brilliant
Ixnay on the Hombre, Huntington Beach's finest went on a bit of a downward spiral for a while.
Americana was rather trite and stale, and
Conspiracy of One was just a complete ***ing mess. However, 2000s The Offspring gets a lot more flack then it should.
Splinter was a return to punkier roots, and even if there were a few joke songs, the end product was fairly enjoyable. Five years later,
Rise and Fall, Rage and Grace was born from the ashes of The Offspring, who were critically and commercially embarrassed with the lackluster sales and reception of the splinted statue.
The result? Nothing but the best Offspring album in a decade.
Most people love to rip on
Rise and Fall, Rage and Grace for its somewhat poppier sound and stale lyrics, when in reality, it's anything but. The thrashy riffs of "Hammerhead" and ferocious "Takes Me Nowhere" show that The Offspring at least retained some of their punk roots, even if it wasn't as punky as
Splinter. "You're Gonna Go Far, Kid" is undeniably catchy, and that "dance ***er, dance" line will go down as one of the band's most memorable lines in their whole thirty year career. "Trust in You" features some nice layered vocals in the chorus, while "Nothingtown" benefits from its poppier sound.
Still, there are some abominations that could have single handedly ruined the record had it not been for the record's undeniable first half. "Kristy, Are You Doing Okay?" is incredibly saccharine and cheesy, while its poppy sound just adds to its cheese factor. "Fix You" sounds a lot like "The Freshmen" by The Verve Pipe, a generic mallternative one-hit blunder. The last two tracks, "Rock Bottom" and "Rise and Fall" sound like cheap Green Day ripoffs.
Rise and Fall, Rage and Grace is a better album than
Splinter, and to a lesser extent,
Days Go By. Its highlights are high enough to neutralize the abominations that are "Fix You" and "Rise and Fall". Look past the ***, and a gold heap of 2000s Offspring will shine through.
